4.27.2013

New examples of the sexualization of girlhood crop up all the time.
Of course there are the dolls that look like Sesame
Streetwalkers—Monster High, Winx Club, Bratz; the makeup lines for
third-graders; the padded bikini tops for seven-year-olds. But a
Facebook reader recently pointed out evidence of this phenomenon in the
last place I'd expect: Candy Land.
Here is the original Candy Land, circa 1949:Yum. Here is the game in 1978:
I dreamed of those ice cream floats...
Things begin to change more significantly in the 1980s. That's when
Candy Land ditched the Dick-and-Jane outfits for generic his-and-hers
overalls:
They also added some friendly candy characters: Plumpy with his
plum tree, Mr. Candy Cane, Gramma Nutt, Princess Lolly, Queen Frostine.
More on some of them in a moment.
Then we hit 2010. On the upside, Milton Bradley finally recognized, at
least in some versions, that there are children who are not white and
blonde (nothing against blonde white kids—I was one myself—I'm just
saying):

Beyond that, though...Yikes! Check out today's board!
In case you can't see it: here's the new Princess Lolly:
And Queen Frostine turned into a Bratz doll:
Candy Land isn't the only classic that has, without our notice, gotten a hot makeover. (And I'm not the only one who finds this evolution alarming.) The Disney Princesses have grown gradually more skinny and coyover time. And, check out Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, Trolls (now called "Trollz"). Even Care Bears and My Little Pony have been put on a diet.
When our kids play with toys that we played with, we assume that they
are the same as they were when we were younger. But they aren't. Not at
all. Our girls (and our boys) are now bombarded from the get-go with
images of women whose bodies range from unattainable to implausible
(Disney Princesses, anyone?).
Toymakers say they are reflecting the changing taste of their
demographic. Maybe, but then it's the change that's so disturbing.
Consider a recent study
on body image among elementary school-aged girls. Psychologists at
Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois used paper dolls to assess
self-sexualization in 60 girls ages six to nine recruited largely from
public schools. The girls were shown two dolls: One was dressed in
tight, revealing "sexy" clothes and the other in a trendy but covered-up
loose outfit. Both dolls, as you can see, were skinny and would be considered "pretty" by little girls.
Using a different set of dolls for each question, the researchers then
asked each girl to choose the doll that: looked like herself, looked how
she wanted to look, was the popular girl in school, was the girl she
wanted to play with. In every category, the girls most often chose the
"sexy" doll.
In another study,
researchers engaged three-to-five-year-old girls in games of, yes,
Candy Land as well as Chutes & Ladders, asking them to choose among
three game pieces—a thin one, an average-sized one and a fat one—to
represent themselves. While in the past children that age showed little
ability to distinguish between average and thin weights, today's wee
ones grabbed thin pieces at higher rates not only than fat ones but than
those of "normal" weight. When asked by researchers to swap a thin
figure for a fat one, the girls not only recoiled but some refused to
even touch the chubbier game piece making comments such as, "I hate her,
she has a fat stomach," or "She is fat. I don't want to be that one."
There's ample evidence that the ever-narrowing standard of beauty creates vulnerability
in our girls to low self-esteem, negative body image, eating disorders,
poor sexual choices. Not to mention the negative impact fat-shaming has
on overweight kids. I think a lot about something that Gary Cross,
a historian of childhood, once told me: that toys traditionally have
communicated to children our expectations of their adult roles. What are
we telling girls we expect of them with this?
This post is adapted from a piece that was originally published on the author's personal website.

4.24.2013

By Tiffany KellSo if you want to make gains in flexibility, there’s an obvious option, right? You take up yoga.Well, maybe. Me and yoga? We’re complicated.When I started Project Bendypants, I committed to taking two classes
of yoga a week, in addition to my regular daily home practice. I thought
hey, yoga instructors are professional teachers of flexibility! Clearly
they could take me further than I could go on my own. And given that I
live in Los Angeles, there’s a yoga studio on every corner. Win!Turns out, it wasn’t so simple. You see, I apparently committed an
unspoken offense to many of the yoga teachers I encountered: I attempted
to practice yoga while fat.I expect a certain amount of fat bias in every fitness class I
attend. After all, the majority of the country has the (scientifically
false) idea that fatness and fitness are mutually exclusive. And I’m
under no illusions. I know that many people take fitness classes just so
*they won’t end up looking like me.* Sigh.But yoga has been a little different from other classes for me, I
suspect for two main reasons. First, I am different in yoga classes. In
particular, I struggle, a lot. (See: reasons I’m undertaking Project
Bendypants.) In most fitness classes, I get the unmitigated pleasure of
disproving all those secret and not-so-secret assumptions that people
have about fat folks and athleticism. I am fit, I am strong, and I am
athletic, and that tends to freak people out, in the best possible way.
Typically, not only am I keeping up, I’m one of the best students in a
class.With yoga, not so much. Flexibility really is my Achilles heel. There
are some beginning poses I can’t even get into yet, much less do well.
So I’m a rank beginner, and as a struggling fat student, I fit into the
stereotypes that many teachers have about fat people.I’m not going to lie. This is difficult for me. I lean on
the privilege of being athletic and able-bodied to buffer me from the
hostility that people sometimes throw at me for being a fat person
working out in public. With this shield stripped away, I am left
vulnerable, naked of my normal defenses. I have to keep reminding myself
that this privilege should not be the admission ticket to acceptance,
even if people often treat it that way. Here’s the reality: athleticism
is not some kind of moral requirement, and I don’t owe being *good* at
something to anyone. But man, giving up that privilege is hard stuff.There is, however, another difference. In most of the yoga classes
I’ve attended, the instructors offer guidance on non-physical elements.
They ask us to quiet our minds, focus on our breath, connect with the
earth. They give attention to both the body and the spirit.Though I live and work in the hard sciences, I love this stuff. With
the right instructor, a little woo with my yoga helps center me and
enriches my practice. But this kind of holistic focus can be an
invitation for concern trolling when you’re fat.Many yoga teachers assume they know a lot about me because I’m fat. A
lot. They make assumptions about me and my relation to my body, and not
only are those assumptions false, they are offensive.Often, yoga teachers ask me if I’ve ever considered *starting* a fitness program. I let them know I work out 10+ hours a week.Often, yoga teachers treat me differently than all the other
students, either peppering me with questions about my “disabilities” or
refusing to make eye contact with me.Often, they assume I’m new, without asking.Often, they offer me “encouragement” that yoga will help me lose
weight. I have taken to replying that I’m currently focusing on losing
height.Often, they refuse to touch me, offering minor adjustments to aid
other students into poses and just leaving me to my own devices. Or
they insist on trying to physically adjust me into poses that are are
not possible with the shape of my body (those DDDs aren’t two
dimensional, you know).Of all the sports and athletics I have participated in as a fat
person, yoga has sadly been one of the most judgmental and the least
emotionally safe. This is particularly painful given the principles of
compassion and reflection that yoga is built around. I’m not entirely
sure what to do with this.The worst part has been that when the yoga’s good, it’s *great.* I
mean that. I could seriously get into this stuff. I have fallen madly in
love with a particular Yin Yoga class. Yin focuses on reorienting the
body relative to gravity. Practitioners use props — lots of them — to
assist in poses, and then you hold those poses for minutes at a time. It
opens you up in ways that simple stretching just can’t accomplish, and
it’s the perfect compliment for someone like me, whose training
primarily focuses on strength.But here’s the thing: it’s not the yoga itself that makes the class
great. I like Yin, but I’ve taken it with a number of instructors now,
and it’s always different. No, the thing that makes my favorite class so
great is the instructor.He is fantastic. Every night, he asks the whole class if anyone is
new to yoga, or has any injuries or concerns he should know about,
making no assumptions. Every night, he invites each student to wave him
over if they want assistance. He welcomes us individually, making eye
contact with each of us. And more than once, when I’ve been shaky in a
hard pose, he appeared at my side with a bolster or a block, silently
sliding it into place to support me. He’s not afraid to touch me when it
will help my practice, but he doesn’t do it when it won’t. He makes me
understand why people fall in love with yoga.The only problem? I haven’t found many more like him. When I
become independently wealthy, I intend to hire him as my personal yoga
coach and learn to meditate my way to a standing heel stretch. But in
the meantime, I have this membership to a yoga studio and only feel
welcome in a few of the classes.But you know what? If we only go where we’re welcome, we’ll leave a
lot of doors closed. So I’m trying to go to more yoga, beyond my beloved
Yin class. If the instructors don’t love having a fat person there,
well, then it’ll be a good learning opportunity for everyone. And if
they’re not willing to love bodies like mine, I’ll love it enough for
both of us.Tiffany Kell is a dancer with More Cabaret, a professional troupe
of fat dancers and athletes based out of Los Angeles. She is a newly
hatched yoga fanatic. When she is not twisting her body in interesting
ways, she teaches at a local university.Article originally published at MoreCabaret.com, reposted with permission.

Adams Avenue Unplugged

The line-up for the second annual Adams Avenue Unplugged is set
and will feature more than 135 artists performing at 25 venues along
Adams Avenue on Saturday, April 27, 12:00 to 10:00 PM, and Sunday, April
28, 12 to 7:00 PM.This year's headliners include:

San Diego roots band Los Alacranes with Special Guests Louie Perez and David Hidalgo(Grammy Award winners and founders of Los Lobos and the Latin Playboys)

Country music masters Geoff Muldaur and Jim Kweskin, founders of
the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, who almost singlehandedly brought about a
national revival of interest in pre-World War II rural music with their
string of albums and good-humored performances

The Americana band Haunted Windchimes comprising of five young
troubadours from Colorado. Musically, the Windchimes' catalogue is full
of barnburners, campfire sing-alongs, and lush four- and five-part
harmonies

Brooklyn-based gospel inspired band Spirit Family Reunion

In addition to the headliners, a variety of San Diego's top musicians
will also perform, including Cindy Lee Berryhill, Jeff Berkley, Chris
Clarke, Tomcat Courtney, Patty Hall, Joey Harris, Robin Henkel, The
Lovebirds, Joe Marillo, Gregory Page, Sara Petite, Podunk Nowhere, Lisa
Sanders, Seaholm-Mackintosh, David Blackburn & Robin Adler, Mark
Jackson Trio, Joe Rathburn, Wendy Bailey Ross Altman, Dave Humphries,
Phil Boroff, Christopher Dale, Ben Powell, Alan Land, Suzanne Reed,
Whitney Shay Trio, Billy Watson, Nena Anderson, Marie Haddad, Jeffrey
Joe Morin, Charlie Imes, Bill Dempsey, Curt Bouterse, Kenny Eng, Folding
Mr. Lincoln, Beston Barnett, Simeon Flick, Doug Walker, Craig Ingraham
Band, Lovers & Circles, Nathan Welden, Jim Hinton, Coco & Lafa,
Bayou Brothers, Will Edwards, Trails and Rails, Kev Rones, Shawn Rohlf,
and John Bosley.The festival will feature performances staged in participating
restaurants, bars, coffeehouses and galleries, as well as four community
stages along Adams Avenue. Many of the unplugged performers
will play multiple sets to allow attendees to catch their favorite
artists while enjoying the neighborhoods many distinctive shops along
the Adams Avenue business corridor.Adams Avenue Unplugged will be held along a two-mile stretch of Adams
Avenue, from University Heights on the west end, through Normal
Heights, and into parts of Kensington on the east. Since street parking
is limited, organizers will provide free trolley service along Adams
Avenue, during the event, as well as a bike valet service. In addition,
mass transit bus service (MTS #2 & 11) will also be available since
Adams Avenue will be open to traffic. We encourage festival-goers to
wear comfortable shoes and enjoy the music and vibe that Adams Avenue
offers.

4.22.2013

Teen volunteers needed for Summer Arts CampsWe're seeking responsible and creative teen volunteers ages 15 to 19 to
become Summer Arts Camp Counselors for the City of Carlsbad's Cultural
Arts Office camps programs. Volunteering during our Club Pelican or
Creative Arts Camp programs is a fun way to spend part of your summer
and a great way to learn about various types of art forms, working with
children (and adults) and a great way to gain experience. All teen
volunteer application materials are due on Friday, May 31 by 5 p.m. Download an application.

4.19.2013

Soldiering On: Pat Tillman's Widow Turns the Page on Tragedy

Marie and Pat in 2001 on a break from Cardinals training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. [Courtesy of Marie Tillman]

Pat Tillman's widow, Marie, author of a new memoir, tells how she turned the page on tragedy by looking forward and giving back.

Say the name Pat Tillman and most people know his
story: A star with the Arizona Cardinals, Tillman put his NFL career on
hold to fight for his country after 9/11, losing his life in
­Afghanistan in 2004. But not many know the story of his widow, Marie,
who was just 27 when Pat died as a result of friendly fire, a fact the
Army initially covered up. Marie spent the next few years struggling to
make sense of it all and trying to do as Pat urged in a letter he gave
her to open in the event of his death: go on with her life. In her new
book, The Letter: My Journey Through Love, Loss & Life,
Marie tells how she coped, eventually ­taking on a bigger role at the
Pat ­Tillman Foundation, a nonprofit that serves veterans, active
service members, and their spouses. We recently spoke to Marie about the
book, her new family, and her work for the foundation.

PARADE: Why did you decide to tell such a personal story?I started writing without the intention of turning it into a
book, but more as a means of therapy, really. Once I could put some time
and distance between me and what happened, though, I was able to get
out there and talk to people. And the more I did, the more I heard
stories of loss. When I was going through really difficult times, those
were the people I connected with. At some point, I realized that in the
same way other people’s stories helped me heal, maybe mine would be
helpful for someone else.

You recount meeting the soldier who issued the “fire” order that
resulted in Pat’s death. You’ve forgiven him, but have you forgiven the
military?That’s such a tricky question. I look at what happened and know
that fingers can be pointed in a variety of directions. But the
military is made up of individuals, the majority of whom are amazing,
wonderful, hardworking, ethical people. I see that in the work I do
every day with the foundation.

Pat wanted you to move on with your life. How did you do that?It took a long time, and it was not easy, certainly. I just
decided I wouldn’t let the experience shape my life in a negative
way—that I would live as Pat had asked me to in his final letter and
stay open to life. Going about things with that attitude allowed all
these wonderful things to come into my life.

And now you are married [to Joe Shenton, an investment bank director]
and have a new baby [Mac ­Patrick] and three stepsons [ages 10, 9, and
7]. How did that come about?Joe and I just had this connection from the very beginning.
[With other men I dated] there always seemed to be something
uncomfortable about my past.

How old is Mac Patrick now?He’s 6 months. It’s an amazing experience to be a mother. He’s a reminder of how far I’ve come.

Tell us a little about the ­foundation you run.We provide scholarships for ­veterans and their spouses, who
are often the sole breadwinners when their soldier is killed or comes
back wounded. We have 231 scholars we support across the country; our
goal is to keep growing.

Do you think Pat would be proud of the work ?I hope that he would. I feel so grateful that I have the
opportunity to do the work I do in his memory. To be able to do such
great things for people—it’s an honor.

4.17.2013

This
all-ages, hands-on art making event for new Cannon Gallery exhibitions
is a big hit with local families! All materials and workspace are
provided and you can stay as long as you like. Two programs each year
include a PLUS element-free performance reflecting the exhibition's
theme. For "Vanishing Traditions: Textiles and Treasures from Southwest
China," our guest performers are the Southern Sea Lion Dance
Association, whose colorful costumes, dazzling footwork and rousling
music demonstrate a centuries-old Chines tradition.